Defects Of Human Nature: One Of The Numerous Flaws In Human Nature Which Is Illustrated In "Lord Of The Flies" Is The Reluctance Of Admitting One's Mistakes

978 words - 4 pages

Human nature can be defined as being the psychological characteristics of humankind which are understood to be shared by all human beings. In the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, the flaws of human nature are explored in detail. When critics asked Golding about the theme of the novel, he replied, "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature" (p. 204). He believes that political systems cannot govern society effectively without first taking into consideration the defects of human nature. One of the numerous flaws in human nature which is illustrated in "Lord of the Flies" is the reluctance of admitting one's mistakes.The characters ...view middle of the document...

" However, it is not Piggy's fault because there was no way that he could accomplish this task without the cooperation of the other boys, which was not available to him. The absence of the little one is ignored and is never spoken of again. This is an example of how people are reluctant to admit their mistakes and would rather blame things on others.When Simon realizes that the beastie is not real, but is rather the dead parachuter, he feels obligated to inform the other boys of his discovery. However, Simon barges in on them during one of their feast celebrations. The boys at the feast are dancing and are caught up in the excitement of the night. Not fully aware of the situation, when Simon made his unannounced entrance, he was mistaken for being the beast. In the excitement of the night, nobody realized the mistake and as a consequence, Simon was brutally murdered. After the incident, nobody believed that they actually committed the murder, and instead they all try to find excuses for their actions:"'Don't you understand, Piggy? The things we did--''He may still be--''No.''P'raps he was only pretending--'" (p.157)."It was an accident, that's what it was...coming in the dark. He was batty. He asked for it. It was an accident....It was an accident, and that's that." (p.157)Ralph and Piggy are not comfortable with what they had done when they woke up the next morning. Ralph realizes what happened, but Piggy persistently...

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